By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – On any given day for the past few months, the picnic tables outside Alabaster’s Albert L. Scott Public Library have been bustling with activity, as families, homeschool students and library patrons have enjoyed the tranquil outdoor area.

But before this summer, it was a rare scene.

“Since he has completed the project, every day we have had mothers and children and families using that area,” said Library Director Nan Abbott. “Before, it was basically unusable.”

In June, Alabaster Boy Scout Austin Owens, a senior at Thompson High School, completed his Eagle Scout project by performing landscaping around the library and installing a pair of new picnic tables to replace two aged and damaged tables.

What started out as a plan to landscape around the library quickly turned into a project to renovate what had long been an eyesore with the picnic area.

“I started out doing just landscaping, but I wanted to do something special that would last for a long time,” Owens said, noting his father serves on the library’s Board of Directors. “The old tables had crumbled, and they weren’t stable.

“I considered doing some other things, but I thought this would be a good project to benefit the community,” Owens added.

Once Owens began working with the library, the board pitched in to help, and made a donation to help in purchasing the new picnic tables. Once Owens ordered the tables, he had them shipped to the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, which assembled them before Owens installed them at the library.

In total, it took Owens about a week-and-a-half to complete the manual labor on the project, but it took him “several months” to work out the details and logistics of the plan, he said.

Abbott said the old tables were more than 20 years old when they were replaced, and said Owens’ project “really enhances the aesthetics” of the library.

Owens’ efforts earned him a proclamation and a challenge coin from Alabaster Mayor Marty Handlon during the City Council’s Sept. 14 meeting.

City Council President Scott Brakefield said Owens has already demonstrated qualities employers look for.

“It’s a big accomplishment,” Brakefield said. “Part of the things I look for when I’m hiring some are the qualities you have already demonstrated.”